hooks & needles: falling leaves garland.

i'm very happy to finally be sharing this quick knit that i did several weeks ago. it was completed during my 'black out' period where i didn't have a camera to get decent photos of the finished product. i love this garland and keep moving it around the house so it's already getting a lot of use. i can't wait until we move and i have a real mantle (or at least better spaces) that i can truly decorate to my heart's content.

when i was thinking about garlands for my fall decor i really wanted to do something knitted... both because i love knitting simple quick projects and because i had a lot of yarn left over from my sister's lap throw. the colors were just too perfect for me to pass up the opportunity to put all of those scraps to good use!

i found a leaf pattern after some searching online that was nicely textured and also allowed me to practice a symmetrical double decrease which i hadn't really used before. it sound complicated but it really isn't... i love adding new stitches to my bag of tricks and discovering that a crazy sounding stitch really isn't all that crazy!

you can find the pattern here...

as i said i used the same yarn as i did for the lap throw i made my sister which was 'cozy yarn' by 'loops & threads'. i didn't really care about gauge so i used US11 needles.

the symmetrical decrease is written as (sl2, k1, p2sso) and all you do is slip two stitches onto your right needle, knit the next stitch normally, and then pass the two stitches that you slipped over the knitted stitch and let them drop. at the end of the pattern there is also a 'p3tog' decrease that you can stitch symmetrically by again slipping two stitches purl-wise onto the right needle, purling the next stitch, and passing the two slipped stitches over the purled stitch. easy peasy right?

it may take a few re-do's on your first leaf but after no time you'll get it and won't even have to think about it! the symmetrical decrease creates this really great vein in the middle of the leaf and it was perfect to use as a guide when i strung all of the leaves together.

sorry about the mobile photo, but it was my only option at the time!

i hope you can tell from the photo but there was a perfect V and then loop at each decrease that i used to determine how i would string them all together.

if you have any questions please feel free to ask! this is a great quick project for any beginner knitter who would like something to practice on. you can use smaller yarns/needles for smaller leaves, you could use them individually to hang on an autumn or thanksgiving tree, use larger ones as pot holders, make a table runner... there are so many possibilities!

happy knitting!
love.

use it or lose it: love pennant garland.

good morning.
over the past two years i've been doing some major purging of my scrapbooking supplies. i still have so much and there are lots of things i've kept with the intention to use it in 2011 or to pass it on to someone who will.

i probably have 5 years worth of valentine's day/love themed paper and cannot let myself buy any more until i use up my stash... so i made this pennant garland for my little corner!

it's simple, and was pretty quick to make. i was able to do at least one pennant per naptime along with my other mommy duties. i left plain pennants in what is probably my favorite love themed paper that i've ever collected... it's from the sei jolie chocolat line. i love the text layers + it allows me some room to add in photos as our family grows.

some other "oldies" i used are: making memories 'love notes' 8x8 pad, ki memories 'wild thing' & paper + embellishments from their valentine's day holiday collection (must be from 2006-ish??) and grungeboard.

i barely used up any of my valentine's day stash but the little dent i did make to create something sweet and simple for my space makes me very happy!

love.

p.s. turntable tuesday coming up a little later today, little miss and i need to decide what kind of music mood we are in...

tgi-thursday + a few valentine's day fails.

thursday is almost over.
the little one is long in bed... and making her dreaming noises.
i swear she dreams SO MUCH. and i'm not sure what makes her so sad in her dreams but her little cries pull at my heartstrings whenever i hear them. shouldn't babies dream of care bears, and furry puppies, and fluffy clouds...

today little miss and i finished putting away her laundry and cleaned her room. she played in her crib the whole time and every once in awhile she'd get really quiet. i'd turn around to check on her and poof... a little flutter of her bumper flipping back into place and a giggle. she was spying on me! peek-a-boo is currently one of her favorite games, although she much prefers to call it 'where's abby,' and she came up with a new way to play all on her own.


it took me forever to snap a few photos... camera ready, folding clothes on her changing table, then i'd hear a little giggle so i'd turn around quick to catch her and she'd pull back laughing. she only let her guard down for a second when during one round of the game she thought she'd try out the bumper as a teether.

the rest of the day was spent playing + napping (by the little one), and stitching, finger knitting, and a little frantic brainstorming as i came up with several valentine's day fails.

first ditched project...


meet the hugbot. now this little guy is not an altogether fail. i'm sure i'll use him for something else at a later date. but as a stitched valentine's day card for the great-grandparents etc. i'm way over him. he may look great sitting in the bin but in reality he's messy and his eyes are torn... just an altogether hot mess. it's ok. my other stitched valentines are great (also patterns by sublime stitching but you'll have to wait to see them!) and i found some leftover valentine's that i never sent a few years ago that i still love and will work great for the ones i had to ditch. besides, the important part are the sweet photos i'm sending off to the family of abby.

my other fail was actually yesterday's failed garland... i was attempting to make a garland out of some cheap cheap foam conversation hearts that i found in the michaels $1 bin years and years ago. in theory my idea was great... in practice, not so much.

panic? nope. back to the drawing board. and i decided on a project that i have been wanting to do for awhile. i chose to do a finger knitted garland...


i love finger knitting. my grandma cisowski taught me to finger knit when i was young (i think probably to make up for not wanting/not having the patience to teach a lefty to crochet, but i digress). i used 3 chunky lion brand skeins that i had on hand... i'll give the specs and more info tomorrow when i do the real post on it.

after i finished the finger knitted garland i knew it wasn't enough so i'm actually working on a pennant garland to hang with it as well. i swear i'll have all of my decorations up by the 14th. maybe.


now it's just about friday... so happy.
less than 24hours and it's the weekend.
daddy time!

(and some mommy scrapbooking time too... it's long overdue!)

love.